The Consequences Of Slavery : Celia, A Slave

In the summer of 1855, a slave named Celia committed a crime that would test the laws and precedents placed on slaves in Missouri during this time period. Celia was only fourteen when purchased by a slave owner, Robert Newsom in 1850. Five years after being purchased, she murdered her owner in self-defense because he tried to rape her. Throughout the 1800’s, slaves had few rights, if any at all. Celia, A Slave brings up many questions about these rights because of the controversy surrounding a black woman and her white owner. Many of these questions were also sparked because of the brutal crime Celia committed.

In the book titled Celia, a Slave, written by Melton A. McLaurin, the story of a young slave woman is narrated. Celia had been bought at the age of fourteen by a male slaveholder named Robert Newsom. Newsom purchased Celia with the intention to “purchase a replacement for his wife” (18). Newsom’s wife had passed away a few years earlier, so “he required a sexual partner” (18). Throughout her stay at the Newsom household, Robert Newsom consistently raped and sexually exploited Celia. Celia’s lover, George, gave her an ultimatum saying that if she did not stop having intercourse with Newsom, George would leave her. Stricken with anxiety over possibly losing her lover and determined to stop Newsom’s behavior, Celia beat Newsom to death and burned his body in the fireplace. Celia went to trial, was convicted guilty for the murder of Robert Newsom, and was sentenced to death. Celia, being both a woman and a slave, had to endure twice the amount of hardships in an era controlled by “the sexual politics of slavery,” which was characterized by the exploitation of slaves both financially and sexually, unfair power dynamics, and little legal recourse.

Melton McLaurin’s book Celia, A Slave is the account of the trial, conviction, and execution of a female slave for the murder of her “master” Robert Newsom in 1855. The author uses evidence compiled through studying documents from Callaway County, Missouri and the surrounding area during the middle of the Nineteenth Century. Although much of what can be determine about this event is merely speculation, McLaurin proposes arguments for the different motives that contribute to the way in which many of the events unfold. Now throughout the book the “main characters”, being Celia, her lawyer Jameson, and the judge William Hall, are all faced with moral decisions that affect the lives of two different people.

our generation of the horrific trades of slavery. The story of Celia is an emblem of the racial

Released in 1993, Celia, A Slave was written as a true story of a young slaved girl who broke some of the most unbreakable of the rules that applied to slaves which took more abuse than most of her peers. The work as a whole

When slavery was present in the United States, life was very hard for many slaves. They would spend their days working in the fields or in the home, doing whatever their master called upon. Slaveholders also held the power over their slaves treating them however they pleased. Most slaveholders were cruel which led to the slaves to do anything they could to avoid their master’s treatment and hope for a better life in the North. The North was filled with freedom, hope, desire and equality for people. It sounded like paradise to most slaves which was the proper motivation they needed to escape from their masters. Many slaves had goals of making in up North

In Celia, a Slave, written by Melton A. McLaurin, the relationships of race, gender, sexuality, power, law, and slavery in the antebellum South is revealed by Celia’s case. In antebellum South, many things dictated a person’s worth, but the race of a person was the number one factor. If a person was of a race other than Caucasian, such as being Black, then he or she would live in the United States as one of two classifications: slave or freed slave. Of these two classifications, both were thought as being subpar humans when compared to white citizens. Due to these beliefs regarding Blacks, slave and free, Blacks themselves were unable to protect themselves from slave masters and in most legal standings (McLaurin 137). This means that Blacks did not have the same citizenship as white people because a slave was not a citizen in the eyes of the law but the human property of his or her master. Gender is the second idea that dictated a person’s worth and character. Males, white particularly, always held more power and sexual control over the women of the antebellum South. White women, when married, became the legal property of her husband (139). Even if a woman was not married, then she was still considered the property of her father and under his protection until she was given away. For example, Virginia Waynescot and Mary Newsome both lived with their father, Robert Newsome (10-11). By living with their father, the two daughters basically handed over their power because Robert

The trial of Celia, a slave, is a murder case arising out of Calloway County, Missouri wherein Celia (the defendant) 19 years of age, killed Robert Newsom her (slave master). Celia was later charged with first degree murder and was sentenced to be hung by William Hall (the judge) for her allegedly criminal intent actions. Upon reading several different articles and a book of this case, I came across every iota I needed to briefly summarize the facts that which led me to believe that Celia was rightly convicted despite her ethnicity and status. Further in my paper I am going to; summarize the ultimate issue involved in this case, state the argument of which the defendant (Celia) tries to defend herself, as Robert Prewitt (the prosecutor)

Melton McLaurin vividly describes the life of a sexually abused slave who fought back in the non-fictional memoir titled Celia, A Slave. As the story began, the 1800s were impassioned with one civil disagreement between two sides of the United States—whether the nation should legally end or perpetuate human enslavement (16). Slavery was particularly and heavily supported by the citizens of the Calloway County, the home of Robert Newsom (19). The proof of increased crop production through slave labor convinced Newsom to begin his investment in black slaves (20). Having an increased number of farmhands allowed Newsom more time for relaxation and a higher social status. Soon, after understanding the ease of obtaining human property, Newsom

Celia, a Slave is the epitome of the relationship between slaves and their owners and also the slaves and other whites in the 1850’s. This is based on her interactions with her owner Robert Newsom and her reactions mainly with the community involved in her court case. These relationships affected more so the women slaves rather than the men slaves because of their weaker nature as perceived by the sexual differences of the time period between men and women in general. Slavery is questioned by the morals of the Northerners and some Southerners though it is common in the South so most Southerners reinforce the ideas of slavery with their own morals, believing slaves as meaningless because of their difference.

During the antebellum South, many Africans, who were forced migrants brought to America, were there to work for white-owners of tobacco and cotton plantations, manual labor as America expanded west, and as supplemental support of their owner’s families. Harriet Jacobs’s slave narrative supports the definition of slavery (in the South), discrimination (in the North), sexual gender as being influential to a slave’s role, the significant role of family support, and how the gender differences viewed and responded to life circumstances.

The book Celia, A Slave is the factual story about a girl that takes place in Calloway County Missouri. Celia was brought to court for the murder of her master and disposing of his body in her fireplace. The author, Melton McLaurin, describes in graphic detail her sexual abuse from her master, Robert Newsome, and events leading up to her court appearance on October 9, 1855. This case came at a conflict time in the American Midwest when new territories were being designated as free or slave states, which made it a nationwide issue and gained the attention of politicians. McLaurin used his historical background to provide an accurate description the trial and the impact slavery had on politics in this period of time.

The book “Celia A Slave” starts off with mainly a young black girl named Celia. She get sold in a slave auction to a man named Robert Newsom. This man continually rapes Celia who gets pregnant with his child and gives birth to the child. The sad part is that the child she just had would grow up to be her father’s property later in her life. Then it changes when one day Mr. Newsom attempted to rape Celia again when she accidentally killed him. She then cuts him up and burns his body and attempts to get rid of all the evidence. She ends up be caught and has to go through the legal system to decide if she is guilty or innocent. Celia pleas that it was self-defense which was legal at the time women to kill if their life was in danger but she was a slave and those rules didn’t apply to her. Even thought there were laws to protect women and slave the Judges usually didn’t listen to black women and just did what they thought was right in their case. The judge was also a racist and would not move her execution date back so that they could figure out if Celia was guilty or not but he declined that and left it the same. People end up kidnaping Celia before her date to hang but these efforts didn’t work for long. Celia later ends up being convicted for murder and is sentenced to death. It was never a fair trial in the first place with all the racism in America at the time. It was a long shot that she would

The transition of stigma surrounding executions also likely had an effect on the decisions regarding the two cases. The reformation of prisons which occurred during the mid-1800s drew more focus around revising the lives of criminals rather than eliminating them completely from society to prevent further issues. So, with this transition people shied more away from the death penalty and it began to be seen in a much more negative light. As executions stemmed from the tradition of being a public spectacle, they gradually became more private and therefore were less supported by the public, which consequently enforced the negativity surrounding capital punishment. Through this sentiment that grew over the years, the courts reflected this ideal,

The book Celia A Slave Melton McLaurin is telling us what happened to a slave owner and a slave that he brought. This story goes into details on the day of June 23,1855 about how a female slave that murdered her master and how she tried to cover it up. This story took place not far from Jefferson City in Calloway Country here in Missouri when around this time there were still debates over what state is going to be free and what states is going to be a slave one. As you’re reading the book you will see how race relations of that period was very … McLaurin talks in great details about the trail, the political climate of the time of the trail, and the experiences of a slave told in Celia view, and the antebellum time period.